Florida protest targets Mall shoppers

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 November 2009, 12:23 GMT]
More than twenty Fort Lauderdale Tamils protested in front of the Sawgrass Mills shopping center Saturday drawing attention to the shoppers of the boycott campaign to shun "Made in Sri Lanka" goods, especially garments. The Florida mall is one of the biggest in South East of USA, and visited by most tourists from Caribbean and South American countries. Leaflets distributed said that trade in garments by US big label stores with Sri Lanka promotes a Government that has allegedly killed thousands of Tamil civilians, committing possible war-crimes in the process, according to a recent US State Department report.

While Malls are private property, and protests inside the malls are generally prohibited, the organizers had discussed with the local law enforcement officials to ensure that they are not violating any local laws by protesting outside the Mall.

The protest which lasted for more than four hours was conducted peacefully, with the large banners attracting the attention of the heavy vehicular traffic of shoppers entering, exiting the shopping center, protesters said.

The flyers sponsored by the US-TPAC (Tamil Political Action Committee) were distributed, and protesters said they were encouraged by several drivers "waving hands and honking in approval."



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